Mason&#39;s corner-guide and course-gauge



Aug. 23, 1960 M. E. BELCHER 2,949,673

MASON'S CORNER-GUIDE AND COURSE-GAUGE Filed Oct. 27, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MASON E. BELCHEP v Aug. 23, 1960 M. E. BELCHER MASON'S CORNER-GUIDE AND COURSE-GAUGE.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 27, 1958 INVENTOR. MASON E BELCHER Aug. 23, 1960 M. E. BELCHER 7 2,949,673

MASON'S CORNER-GUIDE AND COURSE-GAUGE Filed Oct. 27, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 3 4 WW I 20 F" 5.&: 2 I

INVENTOR.

MASON E BELCHER 2,949,673 MASONS CORNER-GUIDE AND COURSE-GAUGE Mason E. Belcher, Athens Star Route, Mercer County,

near Princeton, W. Va.

Filed Oct. 27, 1958, Ser. No. 769,795

Claims. (CI. 33-85) The present invention relates to a corner-guide and course-gauge useful in the construction of masonry Walls, and like, of brick, blocks or stone.

Heretofore various devices have been proposed for the same purpose as this invention but, so far as is known, they lack a construction which permits the device to be anchored directly either to an inside corner or to an outside corner of a wall, and which permits the guide post to be plumbed in two lateral right-angular directions inde pendently of and relative to its anchor means, thus without disturbing the anchored position of said anchor means.

The object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a very inexpensive and simply constructed and efficient combined corner-guide and course-gauge device having the features of construction and manipulation by which the device may be anchored securely in position onto and at the corner of a masonry wall and the guide post may be adjusted to plumb position independently of its anchor means whereby any inaccuracy as to plumb and level in previously laid portions of the wall may be progressively corrected in several successive courses irrespective of the position of the anchor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved masons combined comer-guide and course-gauge device which includes an angular corner abutment anchor attachable to a wall, a vertical guide post or standard projecting upwardly from the anchor means and equipped with plumbing levels and course gauge-line supports adjustable along the standard or post, and means removably supporting said post on said anchor and operable to adjust said post relative to the anchor means to a plumb position independently of said anchor.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a comer-guide that the corner abutment anchor and the guide post are spaced horizontally from each other and the corner abutment anchor, when attached to the corner of a wall, is spaced from the corner faces of the wall so that the corner may be viewed vertically downward below the anchor from above the Wall.

Other objects will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

The invention resides in the sundry novel features of construction and organization of parts now to be described in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate the embodiment of the invention as now constructed and used and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of the improved comerguide and course-gauge device of this invention as applied to an outside corner of a brick wall;

Figure 2 is a similar perspective view, as in Figure l, with the guide post removed and illustrating only the anchor means;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of an upper end portion of the guide post to illustrate the position of the plumbing levels carried thereby and which plumbing levels are indicated in Figure l by dotted lines;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substaninward to form spacing 2 ,949,673 Patented Aug. 23, 1960 tially on line 4--4 of Figure 1 but, for clarity, omitting the connection between the anchor abutment and the guide post;

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 5-5 of Figure 1 and illustrating in planthe connection between the anchor abutment and the guide post;

Figure 6 is a horizontal sectional View similar to Figure 4 but illustrating the corner-guide and coursegauge device applied to an inside corner of a masonry wall and illustrating the connection between the anchor abutment and the guide post;

Figure 7 is an enlarged frontal elevational view of a course-line support or finger slidably mounted on the guide post as shown also in Figures 1 and 4; and

Figure 8 is an elevation of one outer side face of the right-angular bar forming the guide post and having a masons scale thereon above its lower end, the other outer side face being a substantial duplicate of the face shown.

Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like characters of reference refer to similar and like parts throughout the several views, D denotes my combined cornerguide and course-gauge device which may be applied to and held in place on and at either an outside, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, or on and at an inside corner, as shown in Fig. 6 of a masonry wall W.

The device D of this invention comprises a wall anchor means which includes a relatively short right-angle bar (about 12 inches more or less in length) to provide a wall corner abutment it), the inner faces of the legs of which embrace or lie opposite the surfaces of said corner (as shown in Figs. 1 to 5 in one instance and as shown in Fig. 6 in the other instance). An eye-loop 11 is rigidly secured to and projects outwardly from the outer face of each leg of the abutment 10, respectively, at a medial point of the length of said abutment. Each eye-loop 11 has one end of a turn-buckle 12 loosely connected therewith, the other end of the turn-buckle being provided with a pointed hook l3 shaped to extend into the mortar or bonding material m at a joint between two adjacent bricks b, or other building member forming the wall W, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 6 but preferably in a vertical joint, the turn-buckle being dimensioned for this purpose.

The longitudinal free edges of the angle abutment 10 are provided with short flanges 10a extending laterally ribs along the length of the abutment (i.e. being about of an inch in width) to engage against the brick b at the corner of the wall W, but at points remote from the edge of said corner, so as to space the inner surfaces of the angle-bar abutment 10 from the surfaces adjacent the corner of the Wall to provide a relatively wide viewing. passage downwardly from above the wall and along the entire corner of the wall and below the abutment 10. These flanges 10a may be provided by bending the free longitudinal edges of the angle-bar abutment at right-angles to respective leg of the abutment 10 or by welding a strip or rod along said edges as shown in the drawings. r

The corner abutment 10 supports a corner guide post 14 which extends vertically upward from the abutment 10 and is adjustable on and laterally of the corner abutment 10 in two right-angular directions to a plumb position. To this end, the right angle abutment 10 is provided, on the outer faces of its legs and adjacent the ends thereof, with internally threaded bosses 15 which threadedly receive the threaded ends of elongated bolt 16, the threaded bores in said bosses extending parallel with and transversely of the outer face of the angle-bar abutment 10. The shank of each bolt 16 is formed with a circumferential groove 16a near, but spaced from, the head of said bolt.

The guide post 14 may be, and preferably is, a length of right-angle bar approximately three or four feet in length for the purpose of supporting guide-line supports or fingers 17, to which guide lines at are attached so as to parallel the surfaces of a wall at right-angles to each other. For this purpose, each outer face, respectively, of the angular guide post 14 has a slide 17:: slidably mounted thereon which has a finger 17 projecting laterally therefrom to be, in efiect, an extension of the angular flange or leg of the angular guide post 14. The slides 17a may be slidably mounted in any acceptable manner, but are shown here as having a bayonet slot in the inner surface thereof which embraces a complemental rib or projection 18 on the outer surfaces of the angular flanges of the post 14 with a tight sliding fit so as to maintain their adjusted positions. The upper edge and the extremity of each finger 17 is provided with one or more spaced and transverse kerfs or notches 17b remote from the extremity of the finger and in which the guide lines x may be selectively received when the device is used on the outside corner of a wall as shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and each finger 17 has a lateral projection 17c extending therefrom and about which the guide line x, resting in one of the kerfs 1711, may be quickly wrapped for maintaining it in a taut position in the manner and for a purpose well under-stood in the art.

A masons scale 19 is stamped, printed or otherwise provided on each outer face of the flanges of the guide post 14, as indicated in Figure 8, and with which the upper edge portion of the slide (mounted on said face) cooperates in its sliding movement along the length of the guide post and in a manner also well understood in the art.

The lower end portion (approximately the lower /3 or of the guide post), when mounted in position, as shown in Fig. 1, lies outwardly opposite the angular corner abutment 10, which forms part of the anchoring means and has its inner faces lying opposite the outer faces of said corner abutment to be supported in position from said abutment plate. This lower end of the guide post has each of its angular flanges or legs formed with a pair of widely spaced slots 29 extending inwardly from its longitudinal edge and transversely thereof for a substantial distance as shown, each of these slots 20' being positioned to lie opposite a boss 15, respectively, on the corner abutment 10. These slots 20 are dimensioned to fittedly receive in and embrace the circumferential groove 16:: of a bolt 16; and each of these bolts is then threaded into the bore of an oppositely aligned boss on the corner abutment 10. By this arrangement, the bolts 16 support the guide post 14 spaced outwardly from the corner abutment plate 10 (instead of against the wall corner) thus giving about two inches more space in which to pass a trowel over the corner; and, by properly manipulating the bolts 16, the guide post 14 may be adjusted horizontally in two directions at right angles to each other to bring the guide post into plumb position irrespective of whether the corner abutment 10 of the anchor means is plumb or not. The slots are so dimensioned that, when the bolts 16 are in midposition of the slots, the corner anchor abutment 10 and the post 14 are parallel, thus permitting the adjustment of the post 14 relative to the abutment 10 in opposite directions-that is, about one inch in either direction. Also, this arrangement permits of ready and quick attachment or removal of the guide post 14 to and from the corner abutment 10 as may be desired, without disturbing the position of the corner an chor means.

A pair of levels 21 are positioned on the upper end portion of the guide post 14, these levels being arranged at right angles to each other and being secured, respectively, to the inner faces of the flange or leg portions of the angular guide post 14 as shown particularly in Fig. 3. When the guide post has been so adjusted to a plumb 4. position, it may be locked in this position by additional set screws 22 carried in threaded openings in lugs 23, on the lower end of the guide post 14 between the upper and lower sets of bolts 16, to bear against the opposing angular faces of the corner abutment 10.

The device shown in Fig. 6 is the same device as that shown in Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, except that Fig. 6 illustrates the device set at the inside corner of a wall. I have found theguide device of this invention as useful at the inside corner of a wall as at its, outside corner and, as most masons know, an inside corner guide is more preferred in certain circumstances than an outside corner guide.

As shown in Figure 6, the longitudinal edges of the right-angle corner abutment 10'are placed in contact with the angular surfaces of the inside corner of the wall; and the anchor means 11, 12, and 13 are so located, as above described, they may readily assume a position to be anchored in wall joints, as depicted, thus positioning the guide post 14 further from the inside corner of the wall with the gauge-line supporting fingers 17, on each leg of the post 14, extending to the inner edge of the wall, being erected. in this position of the guide device and its gaugeline fingers 17, the gauge-line x is supported in a notch or kerf 17d at the extremity of each finger 17, and then wound around the lateral projecting pin 17c. Also, there may be another kerf 17d adjacent, but inwardly of, the one at the extremity of each finger 17. Other-wise, the device is manipulated in the same manner as above described in connection with Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive.

The use of the improved combined corner-guide and course-gauge of this invention will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the above description. While certain dimensions have been indicated, these dimensions may be varied as may be found desirable; however, the dimensions given have been found to be satisfactory in all operations to which the device has been put up to the present time. While one corner-guide has been shown in connection with the above illustration, it is understood that two or more will be used at other corners of a wall or building structure and between which the gauge lines x will be stretched taut. After the masonry courses have been laid-up according to a particular scale setting of the fingers 17 on the guide post 14, the fingers of the several devices D will be raised in accordance with the scales 19 on their respective guide posts 14. After the courses of the wall have been laid-up to the limit of the settings of the fingers 17 on the guide posts 14, the hooks 13 may be withdrawn from the joints m and the abutment 1i? repositioned and again anchored by the hooks 13 at a higher level for continuation of the masonry operation in the manner previously described; and, the guide posts will be checked for their plumb position and, if need be, be readjusted to a plumb position by manipulation of the thumb bolts 16.

All of the parts of this device may be made of very light weight metal, such as aluminum or magnesium, thus rendering the device very light in weight for easy installation on the jo Having thus described the invention and the manner in which the same is to be performed, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact form of the device herein described, as the same may be varied or modified within the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new and to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

1. A masons combined corner-guide and course-gauge device comprising an upright member forming a comerguide post having adjustable gauge-line supports on the upper portion thereof; an anchor means for securing said upright member to a wall being constructed, said anchor means including an elongated rigid right-angle bar of less length than said upright member and. forming a wall abutment member to extend lengthwise of a corner of said wall with the inner faces of its flanges opposing angular portions of said wall and, further, including means to removably secure said abutment means in position on and to said wall; adjustable means interconnecting and supporting the lower end of said upright member upwardly in spaced outwardly lateral relation from said abutment member, said means including elements arranged at substantially right angles to each other and mounted in the flange portions respectively of one of said members against longitudinal movement in said flanges and for transverse movement relative to said flanges, said elements being further mounted in the flanges of said other member for moving said members relative to each other, and an actuatable part on said elements for operating said elements, whereby the guide-post may be plumbed independently of and relatively to the abutment member, when the latter is secured to the wall, without disturbing the position of the abutment member on and/ or its anchor connection to said wall.

2. A device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said elements of the interconnecting means comprise rotatable bolt-like members extending laterally outward from the flange portions respectively of the abutment member and each having a horizontal self-adjusting connection with said upright member to accommodate the movement of said bolt-like members, during said plumbing adjusting movement of said guide-post in any one of two substantially right-angular directions.

3. A device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein an inwardly projecting rib is provided along the length of and at each longitudinal free edge of the flange portions of the abutment member and adapted to engage and bear against the outside surfaces of a wall-corner to space the intermediate portion of said abutment member from said corner surfaces of the wall opposing said abutment member, when the device is used at the outside corner of a wall; and said longitudinal free edges of the flange portions of said abutment member being adapted to engage and bear against the adjacent surfaces of an inside wall corner to space the intermediate portion of said abutment member from said inside corner surfaces, when the device is used at the inside corner of a wall; and wherein the gauge-line supports project laterally from said guidepost in the same direction as and at least for a distance coextensive with the flange portions of said abutment, whereby to support course gauge-lines adjacent to the wall, being erected, in either position of use of the device, in the manner shown and described.

4. A masons combined corner-guide and course-gauge device comprising an upright right-angle bar forming a guide post, the lower end portion of said post having a pair of elongated slots in each flange portion thereof, the slots of each pair extending inwardly from the longitudinal free edges of their flange portions for a substantial distance and vertically spaced; an anchor means for securing said post to a wall being constructed, said an chor means including an elongated right-angle bar of less length than said post and forming a corner abutment member adapted to contact the corner surfaces of said wall with its inner faces opposing said wall surfaces, each flange portion of said abutment member having a set of two internally threaded bosses thereon, the bosses of each set being vertically spaced from each other and adapted to align with the slots, respectively, in said post, said anchor means further including means to removably secure the abutment member in position on and to said wall; and bolts one extending through each of said slots and adjustably threaded in its aligned boss, respectively, each bolt having a circumferential groove nearits headend into which the edge portions of its respective slot are slidably confined, whereby the lower end of said post is supported from said abutment member in outwardly spaced relation therefrom and whereby the post may be adjusted laterally relative to said abutment member to plumb said post by selective threaded adjustment of said bolts in their bosses.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 wherein the inner face of the flange portions of the post oppose the outer face of the abutment member and the angular Wall surface being erected, a gauge-line supporting finger on each outer face of each flange portion of said post and having a base portion formed with a bayonet-slot in the surface thereof opposing said outer face of said post, a rib on each of said outer faces of said post and extending longitudinally thereof and extending into and shaped to complement said bayonet-slot in the line-support thereon with a sliding fit to be adjustable along the length of the upper portion, at least, of said post, and each of said fingers projecting laterally beyond the free edge of its flange portionof said post.

Elder Sept. 27, 1927 Senk Aug. 14, 1956 

